State Police Won't Give Up On 1969 Tuxedo Murder

An unidentified murder victim found in Tuxedo in 1969 was wearing this medal.Photo Credit: New York State PoliceAn unidentified murder victim found in Tuxedo was wearing this watch.Photo Credit: New York State Police

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TUXEDO, N.Y. – It has been more than 48 years since state police discovered a body near Route 17 in Tuxedo, and Troopers are still on the hunt to identify the victim.

The victim, still only known as John Doe, was discovered with a gunshot wound to the head on Jan. 20, 1969. Doe was wearing brown pants, brown socks and a white undershirt in a brook about one-quarter mile away from Route 17. He was approximately 5-feet, 5-inches tall, between 45 and 55-years-old, weighing approximately 145 lbs, State Police said.

The victim was also found wearing a gold Saint Christopher medal and a Longine Wittnaur watch that had been repaired in New Jersey in January of 1967. No records existed at the time to identify this victim. The watch had been sold initially in 1962 in New York City, again without any tracible records.

The 1969 John Doe investigation is the oldest unidentified person case in New York State.

To date, no family has come forward to help identify the victim.

Any family members can provide a familial DNA sample, which is only allowed to be used for purposes of identifying missing and unidentified persons.

Numerous leads have been followed over the years with this case, and DNA and facial reconstruction will be done in hopes of identifying the victim.

If anyone has information on this case, contact the New York State Police at Monroe BCI at 845-782-8311 and all calls will be confidential.